Independent
Electoral Commission (IEC) Chairman Alieu Mamor Njai has urged journalists
reporting on elections to carry out their work with professionalism and in a
responsible manner.
He
made this remark on Saturday at the Training-of-Trainers for the National
Assembly Elections slated for 6 April. The training session is under way at the
Paradise Suites Hotel in Kololi.
Chairman
Njai said media reports on the elections should be conducted in a professional
and responsible manner by giving factual, accurate, truthful, thorough,
balanced and full accounts.
“Such
election reports by the media should be done with absolute honesty,” he added.
“Let
me take this opportunity to inform this august gathering that the International
Observation Groups notably among them, the European Union, have started
arriving in the country, some on long-term observation and others on short
term.”
He
said the Coalition of Civil Society Organizations on elections has also been
accredited with a number of other civil society organizations and youth groups,
as well as beneficiaries of the Election Project being managed by the UNDP.
The
CSO Coalition is also monitoring the campaigns across the length and breadth of
the country, to enable them write a comprehensive report on the National
Assembly election, Njai added.
The
IEC chairman thanked the assistant returning officers for accepting the
challenge once again.
“You
have always been performing exceptionally well during electoral activities, and
I enjoin you to once again take this training workshop very seriously, for the
success of the forthcoming elections hinges greatly on your dedication and
performance.”
Njai
appealed to Gambians and all friends of The Gambia resident in the country to
keep the peace, and desist from actions that may be in contravention of the
laws of The Gambia. He advised whoever
is strongly aggrieved to let the process of law take its due course.
He,
therefore, urged all stakeholders, including political party leaders and
candidates, to leave no stone unturn in sensitizing the voting public, on all
aspects of the electoral process that should lead to an orderly and peaceful
election day.
“Voters
should be encouraged to turn out in great numbers early on polling day so that
the poll could start promptly at 8 o’clock in the morning and end at 5 o’ clock
in the afternoon as planned,” the electoral commission chief advised the
electorate.